Loved Ones
by Aedien
Summary: Tsunade is taking some time to think and her thoughts turn to Naruto. Wondering what he was like as a child and some quality time with everyone's favorite blond. Rated M for language just to be safe.


AN: Thank you to everyone who reviewed and favorited! I was so excited to see that people liked it. I wrote this one on a whim at one in the morning, so I was surprised to see it so well recieved. I was a little harsh on a couple of the characters, as one of you pointed out. I was a little concerned about it, so I tried to keep it mild, but I think you all understood where I was going with it I do want you to know that it was taken to heart and I appreciate the comment. It was also suggested that I write another chapter for this story; I hadn't really considered it, but if enough people are interested I would be more than happy to give it a try. Thanks again!

Tsunade sighed as she looked up at the fourth's portrait. She often came to this room when she needed time to think and even Shizune knew better than to disturb her here. She sipped her sake and continued to stare at her former teammate's student; her thoughts soon drifted to another of Jiraya's students, the one that looked so much like his father.

She glared at the picture, suddenly angry that he had been unable to foresee the consequences of his actions. "You stupid brat. You always did like to think the best of people. Your kid is just like you too: too damn trusting; he cares too damn much." she paused, "And we sure as hell don't deserve it."

She refilled her sake cup then emptied it with one swallow before refilling it again. She looked back at the painting and this time sadness was in her eyes. She spoke in a whisper, as though she hoped for some sort of answer floating in on the breeze that came from the open window, "What would you have done if you had known what you were damning him to Minato?"

She sat silently swirling her sake in her glass, expecting nothing and getting the same. She closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the sofa, unable to look at the stoic face any longer. She smiled to herself as she tried to picture Naruto as a child; unruly blond hair, perhaps a smudge of dirt on his cheeks, and mud all over his clothes, "Yes, that seems right, I bet he was always into everything."

A cloud passed outside, blocking the sun's rays and causing the room to darken suddenly. In the absence of the sun's warmth her cheerful vision of little Naruto took a dark turn. Suddenly there were tears in his eyes; the immense pain of his loneliness shining in those sapphire orbs that she had only seen once before; just a glimpse, right after Sauske left. In her mind she could hear the insults of the villagers clamoring together while sweet little Naruto's shoulders slouched under the weight of their hatred. She could see as they turned their backs on him, dragging away their children, warning them to stay away from the dangerous beast who had never harmed anyone. Tears formed in the corners of her eyes as her vision of Naruto finally crumpled in on himself; hugging his knees for comfort since no one was there to hug him back.

Her next thought came unbidden, and she felt sick to her stomach because it was true and there was no way to deny it.

'_I wasn't there to hold him.'_

Her eyes snapped open as she felt tears roll down her cheeks, "Not just me. Jiraya, Saratobi-sensei, Kakashi, hell even Gai knew. We all knew he was Minato's child; we knew he must be suffering." she locked eyes with the emotionless painting, "Sorry Minato, none of us have the same faith in people as you did. We could have saved him, we _should_ have saved him. But we hid; Jiraya and I are the worst. We ran, we fucking ran. It's not an excuse, but we didn't know what to do with ourselves, let alone a baby. So strong and we can't even save one child!"

She laughed at the irony. "In the end we weren't even the ones to save him Minato. Thank God for Iruka. If he weren't so kind-hearted who knows what Naruto could have become."

She shuddered as visions of Gaara and Orochimaru, followed by the traitorous Itachi and Sauske flashed in her mind. She sighed and sipped her sake once more, "Thank God it never came to that. With his determination the world wouldn't stand a chance."

She closed her eyes and leaned her head back once more, settling into the plush pillows. Her elegant eyebrows came together as her mind continued on it's dark path of self-loathing and regret for things that might have been; things that should have been.

As she lay there she suddenly felt another presence hovering above her own; surprised that she had not felt him approaching 'Ha he's getting better,' but since it was one she was so familiar with, she was calm when she opened her eyes. She raised her head once more and found herself looking right into the incredibly blue eyes of Uzumaki Naruto himself.

He smiled as he leaned over her, "Hey Tsunade-baachan. Sorry if I woke you up."

Tsunade arched an eyebrow at him, "Since when do you care if you wake me up kiddo?"

Naruto pouted, a look that only he could pull off at his age, "Baaaachaaan! That's mean! I always care about my important people!"

Tsunade smiled, deciding to let the matter rest, at the same time her heart was warmed by the thought of being one of the few that the young man considered his 'important people.' She looked kindly at the teen as he laughed at himself, all of his friends had figured out long ago that when Naruto says: "You're one of my important people!" What he's really saying is: "I love you!" All of them had their own way of returning the other blonde's affection, but it was something that they all understood.

She stood and stretched then patted Naruto on his head, "Alright, so since you didn't come in here screaming like a barrel full of monkeys on fire for once, go ahead and tell me what you came here to say." She ruffled his hair, "I'm all ears."

Naruto smiled, soaking up the affectionate touch, "Iruka-sensei and I were passing by on our way to get some ramen. We're taking some time to catch up, but as we were walking by I realized that I haven't had any time to really talk to you either since I got home. So I asked him to wait and walked up here to see if you had time to come with us."  
Tsunade looked at him then to the locked door, "You walked up here?"

Naruto shrugged, "Well, up the wall outside and in through the window. Why?"

Tsunade smiled and ruffled his hair again, "Don't worry about it, it just makes me wonder about my Anbu. Either they were slacking off, or they're so accustomed to you hanging around that they decided it wasn't worth the effort to try and deter you."

Naruto laughed again, "They better get used to seeing me! These are going to be my offices one day!"

Tsunade threw her arm around the teen's neck and started walking to the window, "Don't get ahead of yourself brat. You're not ready for that yet."

Naruto beamed up at her, "Maybe not, but I know that I will be." he held up the necklace that she had given to him years before, "This means that someone believes in me. So I can't fail!"

The young man grinned, pleased with his own unique brand of logic. Tsunade smiled, and stepped up onto the window sill, "Come on Naruto. Iruka's been waiting long enough don't you think?"

Naruto leapt onto the sill by her side, "Awesome! So you're coming?"

She laughed, something that seemed to come so easily when he was by her side, "Yeah, just don't tell Shizune okay? Let's let her think I'm still sitting in here."

Naruto laughed, "Got it! Remind me to show you all of the ways to sneak in and out of the tower. Some of them are pretty hard to find. You never know when it could come in handy."

"So that's how you always got past the guards!" she laughed, "Fine then, I'll hold you to that."

She looked down to see Iruka waving at them, Naruto waved back vigorously, a wide grin playing across his face. He ran the rest of the way down the wall and tackled Iruka with a hug, the chunnin stumbled, but managed to keep his feet under him as he hugged Naruto back. She smiled, 'I need to give that guy a raise.' Tsunade reached the ground shortly after, letting herself fall the last few feet; she and Iruka exchanged greetings then they moved to either side of Naruto and they talked as they made their way towards Ichiraku's. As she looked at Naruto bouncing happily between them she had an almost irresistible urge to hold his hand. She looked over the top of his head at Iruka and their eyes met for an instant; in that moment she knew that he had felt the same urge every time that he had walked with the irrepressible blond, but neither of them took his hands knowing that he wouldn't really understand the parental gesture. She opted for a little "family fun" instead, "Naruto, how about we go to a movie after lunch?"

Naruto's eyes lit up and he grinned at her, "Really Baa-chan!? That sounds great! Can Iruka-sensei come too?"

Tsunade grinned and tapped him gently on his head, "Of course he can."

Naruto practically bubbled over with happiness, "Yes! This is going to be fun! I haven't seen a movie since Ero-sennin tried to get me to watch that movie with the naked girls in it!"

Unnoticed by Naruto a vein twitched violently in both Tsunade and Iruka's foreheads, each having the same thought, '_I'm going to kick his ass!" _

Somewhere on the roof of a bathhouse on the other side of Konoha, Jiraya felt a shiver of fear run down his spine, '_Ah! What the hell was that about….? I'm getting the feeling that Konoha may not be the safest place for me right now…"_


End file.
